A family registers a kasambahay with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG

The family prepares the unified registration forms, the written contract and the monthly pay slip to print and sign.

Employers ask if they must go to a branch to register a kasambahay, and find no clear online option.

People find their agency record shows the wrong member type or an old employer.

People get stuck on which box to tick and what member type to choose.

When a household hires a yaya, cook, gardener, laundry person or general househelp, the law sets clear duties under Republic Act 10361, the Batas Kasambahay. Before the work starts, the employer and the helper must sign a written contract in a language or dialect they both understand. The Department of Labor and Employment provides a model contract called Form BK-1, Kontrata sa Paglilingkod sa Tahanan. The employer also registers the helper in the Registry of Domestic Workers at the barangay hall where the employer lives.

Once the domestic worker has rendered at least one month of service, the employer must register themselves and enrol the helper with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. SSS requires the employer to report the helper within 30 days from the hiring date, and PhilHealth asks for the report within 30 calendar days of employment. Instead of three separate sets of paperwork, the three agencies share the Kasambahay Unified Registration System. The employer fills out the Household Employer Unified Registration Form (PPS-HEUR1), the Household Employment Unified Report Form (PPS-HEUR2), and the Kasambahay Unified Registration Form (PPS-KUR).

Filing those unified forms at any one of the three agencies covers the registration for all three, and the employer receives an employer number for each agency. However, the monthly remittance stays separate for SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG. The employer shoulders the premiums if the helper earns less than ₱5,000 a month. If the monthly wage is ₱5,000 and above, the helper pays a proportionate share that the employer deducts and remits along with the employer share and the Employees’ Compensation contribution.

Every pay day, the employer must pay the wage in cash directly to the helper at least once a month. The employer must also issue a pay slip showing the cash paid and every lawful deduction, and keep copies of these pay slips for three years. After one year of service, the helper gets 5 days of paid service incentive leave, and by December 24 every year the employer must pay the 13th month pay, which is the total basic wage of the year divided by 12.

Employer TIN and contact details: You need your TIN if you have one, birth date, sex, address, mobile number and email for the employer registration form.

Helper birth and personal details: You need the helper’s full name, date of birth, place of birth, civil status and mother’s maiden name for the helper registration form.

Existing agency numbers if any: If the helper has no Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth or SSS numbers yet, you leave those boxes empty on the helper registration form (PPS-KUR).

Agreed terms of employment: You need the duties, start date, monthly cash wage, pay day, daily schedule and rest day to fill the written contract before work begins.

Authorization letter and valid IDs: If a representative files the unified forms at the branch for you, they must bring your letter of authorization, your valid ID and their own valid ID.

1. Fill the written employment contract. Before the helper begins work, the household opens the kasambahay employment contract, which follows DOLE Form BK-1, Kontrata sa Paglilingkod sa Tahanan. It fills the 18 items in Tagalog as DOLE prints them, or in English. The family enters the duties, start date, monthly cash wage, pay day, daily schedule, weekly rest day and board and lodging details. Both sign it before the first day of work, and the helper gets a signed copy.

2. Open the household employer pack. To handle the agency paperwork without retyping the same employer details on separate sheets, the family opens the household employer pack on PhilForms. This pack groups the unified forms for the Kasambahay Unified Registration System in one place. The employer enters their name, birth date, sex, TIN if any, address, contact details and the number of kasambahay on the Household Employer Unified Registration Form (PPS-HEUR1). If the employer is new, they leave the three employer-number boxes blank so the agencies can issue them.

3. Prepare the helper registration form. Next, the family fills the Kasambahay Unified Registration Form (PPS-KUR) with the helper. Because this form is about the worker, the family enters the helper’s full name, birth date, place of birth, civil status and mother’s maiden name. If the helper has no Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth or SSS numbers yet, those boxes stay empty. Supporting documents are not needed just to get the numbers issued at the agency.

4. Complete the employment report form. The family then completes the Household Employment Unified Report Form (PPS-HEUR2), which reports the helper as their employee. Because they opened the forms from the pack, the pack fills the employer’s details into the PPS-HEUR2 for them. Once filled, the family downloads the PDFs to print. They attach the printed PPS-KUR to the PPS-HEUR2 so the set is ready for the branch visit.

5. Compute the monthly pay slip. On every pay day, the family prepares the kasambahay pay slip to give to the helper along with the cash wage. The pay slip tool computes the SSS share using the household schedule. If the monthly wage is below ₱5,000, the employer pays all of the contributions, and from ₱5,000 and above the helper pays a proportionate share. The employer types the Pag-IBIG share on the slip after asking Pag-IBIG for the current amount, then prints the slip for the record.

Writing employer details on the KUR. Some employers fill the Kasambahay Unified Registration Form (PPS-KUR) with their own personal information by mistake. The PPS-KUR is strictly about the helper, while the employer’s own details belong on the PPS-HEUR1.

Deducting shares below five thousand pesos. Employers sometimes deduct SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG shares from a helper who earns less than ₱5,000 a month. Under Section 30 of Republic Act 10361, the employer shoulders the entire premium unless the monthly wage is ₱5,000 and above.

Registering a family driver as kasambahay. Families often include their driver on the unified kasambahay forms. DOLE lists family drivers as not covered by the Batas Kasambahay, and SSS states that a family driver is registered with each agency separately.

Using outdated minimum wage amounts. The wage amounts printed in the 2013 law are no longer the legal minimum because regional wage boards adjust them. For example, in the National Capital Region the minimum wage is ₱7,800 a month from February 7, 2026 under Wage Order No. NCR-DW-06.

The family gets filled PDFs of the DOLE Form BK-1 employment contract, the Household Employer Unified Registration Form (PPS-HEUR1), the Household Employment Unified Report Form (PPS-HEUR2), the Kasambahay Unified Registration Form (PPS-KUR), and the pay slip. On the Free plan, the first fillable form of a pack downloads as a clean PDF, and later forms in the pack can be made clean with the 30-day Pro trial, a paid plan or a prepaid credit. Filled values are not stored on the server unless the user opts in to save an encrypted profile or draft.

PhilForms never files anything with any government agency. The employer and the kasambahay must check the printed contract and sign it before work begins, and the employer registers the helper at the barangay hall in the Registry of Domestic Workers. Within 30 days of hiring, the employer or an authorized representative must sign the PPS-HEUR1, PPS-HEUR2 and PPS-KUR and submit the paper forms in person at an SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG branch. After receiving the employer numbers, the household must remit the monthly contributions to each agency separately and keep their pay slip copies for three years.

This does not remove the trip to an SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG branch, because registering as a household employer still requires submitting the signed PPS-HEUR1 set in person. PhilForms also cannot fix agency portal lockouts when two-factor codes fail, SIM cards are lost or agency records are missing. If an agency refuses a Payment Reference Number because of a wrong member type or an outdated employer record in their system, the employer must resolve that directly with the agency.

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